Mad About Manilow: For This Superfan, Barry`s Every Move Is Big

News

February 02, 1986|By Jonathan Taylor.

Candee Kennedy still talks about her trip to heaven. It was Dec. 30, 1984, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, when Barry Manilow invited her onstage to help him sing ``Can`t Smile without You.``

``It was the highlight of my existence, putting it mildly,`` Kennedy recalled. ``Yeah, it was great.``

Lest she should forget the experience, she has a whole scrapbook filled with photographs of her memorable duet. The pictures were snapped by 20 of Kennedy`s fellow Manilow fanatics who attended the concert armed with cameras.

Kennedy, 38, a hospital administrator who lives in suburban Lakewood, drew Manilow`s attention by wearing a jacket covered with Manilow buttons. She wears it every time she sees him perform, which is just about every time he is in town.

The ridicule heaped regularly on Manilow by his critics is more than matched by the amazing devotion from Kennedy and the tens of thousands of other fans who fill 28 clubs in his honor. Buying his records and attending his concerts is just the start. Manilow`s fans take their affection a step further, trying to keep track of his every move.

``The international fan club has a hot line,`` Kennedy explained. ``It keeps tabs on what`s happening. If he`s going to be on Johnny Carson or do some other TV taping, it lets us know so we can either be there or watch it. Then there`s the unofficial grapevine. If anyone hears anything, they call the others and say, `Have you heard this is going to happen?` Everyone tells everyone else.``

Kennedy makes no apologies about her affection for Manilow, but she does understand that some people are amused by it.

``I`ve been at my current job for only six months, and I knew I`d been accepted when they started kidding me about Manilow. They kid me about it, but it`s pretty good-natured. I`m up-front about it; I say this is the way it is. If you don`t like him, keep it to yourself. If you do, we`ll get along fine.``